Tuesday, December 22, 2009

If they don't like you, black or white, they will force you from your farm.

The question really is why can they do it?

Simple answer really: They can, and they have the support of the goverment.

Invaders order farmer to leave

2009-12-22 09:18

Sarel van der Walt

Johannesburg - Farm invaders are preventing a Limpopo farmer from harvesting the mangoes on his farm. The mangoes brought in R480 000 for Whiskey Kgabo last year.

His 65ha farm Balloon is near Trichardtsdal, between Tzaneen and Lydenburg.

Kgabo has been a successful commercial farmer since 1992, and in 2005 he sold his three farms to the government as part of the government's land claims programme.

Because of an administrative error on the part of the land claims commission, only two of the three farms were transferred to the government. Thus far the government has only paid Kgabo R2m - about half the selling price they'd agreed on.

When he sold his farms, the government had agreed that he could farm on Balloon until the amount had been paid in full. Kgabo could also stay on in a house on one of the adjacent farms.

A few months ago Kgabo's farm was invaded by about 100 people.

The invaders, calling themselves the Banareng-ba-Mantjana community, are claiming the land and say that they're the legal owners. Kgabo's farm labourers were also chased off the farm.

The police removed the invaders at one stage, but they returned two days later.

'I still don't have my money'

"I wanted six months to harvest my mangos before I left the farm, because by that stage I had already pruned, irrigated and fertilised the trees. They didn't want me to harvest and said I must leave immediately," said Kgabo on Monday.

"When they invaded the land, the land claims commissioner only showed up four days later - on a Saturday."He asked the invaders to give me enough time to settle my affairs.

"They (the invaders) were removed by the police, but two days later they were back and said I must pack my things immediately and leave.

"I feel the land claims commissioner should have prevented my land from being invaded."He promised that I would be paid 'soon', but I still don't have my money. I didn't harvest a single mango," said Kgabo.

Earlier this year, the department of rural development and land reform stated that a lack of funds is making it difficult to buy farms which have already been earmarked for restitution purposes.

Theo de Jager, deputy president of the agriculture organisation Agri SA, said the Banareng-ba-Mantjana community's claim was dismissed in 2001 by the former land claims commissioner, and in March 2005 the land was allocated to the Sekokoro community.

"In April that year (2005), the land claims commissioner conceded that there had been an administrative error with the transfer and it would've been rectified as soon as possible.

"It's more than four years later and nothing has happened," said De Jager.

Tele Maphoto, land claims commissioner of Limpopo, said he doesn't know when Kgabo will receive his money.